Former employees say a Philadelphia diversity and tourism executive is a toxic boss

Eight women have signed an open letter accusing their former boss — a prominent Philadelphia diversity and tourism industry executive — of toxic, hypocritical behavior.

The women contend that Greg DeShields, executive director of nonprofit Tourism Diversity Matters, was disrespectful and demeaning to the young Black women and women of color he supervised, and that the nonprofit’s CEO and board failed to act when they reported his behavior.

The letter, which six women signed by name, including the former board chair of Tourism Diversity Matters, calls out the “dissonance between professed values and actual practices,” saying that the failure to act on DeShields’ behavior “not only undermines the credibility of the industry, but also casts doubt on the sincerity of leaders who purport to prioritize [diversity, equity, and inclusion] as a valuable business strategy.”

DeShields, a former executive director at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been suspended, according to an email from a board member shared with The Inquirer. Tourism Diversity Matters, a three-year-old nonprofit that aims to diversify the tourism industry, has also hired a lawyer to conduct an “HR assessment” in response to the allegations against DeShields, according to internal e-mails made public by the women.

DeShields did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Mike Gamble, CEO of Tourism Diversity Matters.

Tourism Diversity Matters board member and former board chair Elliott Ferguson said he could not comment in advance of a Friday afternoon board meeting to discuss the letter.

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DeShields, 65, of Cherry Hill, N.J., has built his career on his diversity and inclusion expertise, noting his intersectional identities as a Black, gay man. He hosted the PHL Diversity podcast for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, penned articles about organizational change, and serves on numerous boards for identity-oriented organizations such as the Independence Business Alliance, an LGBTQ chamber of commerce. DeShields has also been a member of The Inquirer’s Soapbox Salon, a community advisory council, since its inception in 2022.

Some of those who worked for or with him over the last decade — including several interns — say he made inappropriate comments about their appearance, demeaned them in front of clients, and retaliated when they attempted to speak up.

Sofia Mendoza-Muller, a former executive assistant at the tourism nonprofit, said in the open letter that DeShields “would constantly make references to the fact that English isn’t [her] first language.”

“He made me feel like being a native Spanish-speaker somehow made me less professional,” she wrote.

Weeks after she announced her pregnancy to the team, DeShields asked “if [she] was capable of continuing to meet expectations ‘now that you are pregnant,’” Mendoza-Muller wrote in an initial letter sent internally to Tourism Diversity Matters’ board last month.

Mendoza-Muller raised her concerns about DeShields to Gamble but was subsequently laid off in January — due to budget issues, she says she was told.

Amber Dugger, a recent Temple grad who interned at Tourism Diversity Matters last year, said that DeShields “scolded, berated, and humiliated [her] in private” yet publicly praised for her hard work. “I developed anxiety pretty quickly and hated having to attend meetings with him, especially ones where no one else was present,” she said.

Brittany Benjamin, a former Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau intern who worked on DeShields’ team, said that on the first day of her internship in 2015, DeShields commented on her hair during a meeting, saying that certain styles could be seen as “unprofessional.”

“It was a jarring moment, considering I had just recently embraced my natural hair with a fresh big chop, leaving me with a short Afro,” said Benjamin, who is Black.

Brandi Baldwin, a diversity consultant and Tourism Diversity Matters’ former board chair, resigned from the board in January, saying she could no longer work at the organization if DeShields was not held accountable, according to a letter sent to the board. She had previously voiced her concerns to Gamble last summer, e-mails show.

“While some may see me as a ‘pot-stirrer’ for advocating for fairness in this way, I see myself as a spark — one that ignites TDM towards a future where its internal practices align seamlessly with the values it espouses, one where we know through-and-through that we’re really one of the ‘good guys,’ not another organization succumbing to performative DEI,” Baldwin wrote to the board in her resignation.

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Tourism Diversity Matters was founded in the wake of the George Floyd protests to “empower tourism organizations to evolve and achieve excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” It was started by Gamble, a former sales and marketing executive for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, which describes itself as a founding partner.

Gamble, a white man now based in the Twin Cities, runs an executive search firm called Searchwide Global.

Board members include Gregg Caren, president of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau; executives from Marriott and Kimpton Hotels; and directors of city tourism agencies such as Los Angeles Tourism and Destination DC.

Last fall, the tourism nonprofit hosted a $750, two-day diversity conference in Philadelphia.

Tourism Diversity Matters describes itself as a tax-exempt 501(c) 6 nonprofit. Its 2022 IRS filing is not publicly available and Gamble did not respond to requests to view it. On its 2021 filing, the organization listed $1 in revenue and $1 in assets. It did not list any employees except Gamble, though DeShields’ LinkedIn says he has worked as the executive director of the organization since 2020.

In its 2022 annual report, Tourism Diversity Matters says it raised more than $1 million, including contributions of $75,000 or more from Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, ConferenceDirect, and Searchwide Global.

Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau said in a statement it was aware of the open letter.

“The PHLCVB has policies and resources in place for all staff to utilize should concerns arise during their employment with the company, no matter the topic, and it encourages employees to use those resources,” spokesperson Joe Heller said.

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